Cost of living – and your council
WHEN it comes to social butterflies, Clelia Garcia is out and about every day. The Broadbeach Waters resident travels from her home to Pacific Fair, Ashmore and Runaway Bay, all on public transport thanks to a council initiative started 11 years ago.
Free seniors and veterans public travel is more than just a ticket-toride – it has greatly improved the social connection of our seniors, improved their mental and physical health and boosted the turnover at our local shops and cafes when Clelia (far right) and her friends meet for coffee and cake.
The success of this program is reinforced by the numbers: Today, we have 45,808 residents registered on the system with 3608 average daily trips taken during weekdays – and 1443 average weekend trips.
As Mayor, I’m acutely aware of cost-of-living pressures for all of us. This initiative takes cars off the roads and ensures any ‘empty’ bus seats are available for seniors wanting to get from point A to B safely.
With January already behind us, our council will continue to focus on anything we can do to relieve costof-living pressures for residents.
Since I was first elected in May 2012, this council has ensured any annual general rate increase has been kept at, or below, CPI. For a principal-place-of-residence homeowner, that’s provided certainty when it comes to budgeting for the twice-yearly rates bill.
Keeping rate increases at, or below, CPI, has saved people thousands of dollars over the past decade, meaning more money in their pockets for school fees, retail spending or other utility charges – all of which are out of our control.
I have also voted with Full Council to ensure our landfill sites remain free for residents to dispose of their private waste. No one wants to arrive at the dump and have to tap on an EFTPOS machine to enter.
In this regard, I urge every resident to adopt better recycling habits as we want to continue to relieve pressure on our landfill sites.
Recycling starts at home – literally – and we will be rolling out
green recycling bins to virtually every Gold Coast house in the next 10 months. These bins allow people to place garden clippings in the green-top bin, freeing up the other bins which should never have green waste placed into them. My aim is that green recycling will become a part of everyone’s household habit and the vast majority will keep using their green bins the right way.
Another key program embedded in council’s community investment is the active and healthy events. Of the 150plus activities, the vast majority are free. This allows residents to get out and about, enjoy some physical activity, meet new people and kickstart their fitness regimes. Active and healthy extends to our libraries and community centres with free courses on cooking, home security and many others throughout the year.
When it comes to pets, we have introduced free dog registration for seniors and veterans, freeing up some extra dollars for those dog owners to spend in our local shops.
Council also offers free trees to residents, schools and body corporates as part of our wider plan to improve the overall ‘canopy coverage’ across our city. Since I was elected, hardworking council staff and volunteers have planted more than one million trees from Coomera to Coolangatta. This is your chance to plant a tree and boost our natural environment.
Finally, a favourite of mine is our magnificent HOTA – Home Of The Arts – where general admission is free – and will remain so as long as I am mayor. The galleries are full of eclectic art from locals with the fifth floor Exhibitionist Bar offering a bird’s eye view of the Surfers skyline and west to the hinterland. Spend the day there with free public transport for seniors and vets running right past our HOTA precinct.
about any vegetation being removed from the dunes. Doesn’t seem to matter anymore! Kathy.
Just a reminder to politicians, health authorities, medical professionals, and media spokespeople. The globalists who unleashed the injectable bioweapon are coming for you and your families, too. You’re not in their club. Once again I implore you to stand up for your own futures and for your fellow Australians and start exposing the globalists. Chloe
Not selecting a a decorated champion player in the South African female T20 cricket team because she failed a 2 kilometre time trial by 18 seconds is ridiculous. Too often sports around the world are dominated by administrators who impose arbitrary requirements on athletes that have no bearing on how they will perform in real competition. How many sporting legends of the past would have been lost if this rubbish had been imposed on them.
Since the onset of this bloody Covid
nightmare, data has been collected every step of the way! Who, what, where & why?! So too, has data been collected every step of the way re vaccination program, from suitability of a safe vax to administer to the whole wide World, to the side-effects vax may cause. (They’re top-level scientists, for Christ’s bloody sake! Every move they make, will be datarised!) Perhaps it may finally put a stop to this constant for/against vax argument, if us plebs were given actual TRUE results of data taken, so we can make a more educated stance on our opinions? Anyhow, that’s what I reckon. Ooroo
History lesson kids. Liberals are all about keeping those who want to succeed in life, supported. Labor more intent on continually wasting big taxpayer bucks, trying unsuccessfully every time, to rehabilitate totally hopeless cases who’ve lost their way & don’t give the slightest shit anymore! Amen
Truth mangler marty from oxy, we the majority would prefer to be
informed with honest news instead of the society destroying socialist BS dividing our country from your left wing crappy abc. Which by their disgusting behaviour absolutely demand to be defunded immediately. Proud to be Australian.
Dear Mark Bails, minister for something, these figures thrust upon us for light rail trips. Does the 65 million trips allude to passengers or just the unoccupied trams themselves ? Looking forward to enlightenment , thanks.
Has anyone a spare wheelchair for leaning oz greta as her face keeps greeting the floor much to the floors annoyance.
Re car theft:its about time ppl stopped leaving keys in cars or laying around their unlocked houses, insurance companies shouldn’t be paying out if keys are in cars or houses are left unlocked.
Any chance of a Voice for the majority? Jack
OMG - I have lost all respect for horse racing. For 52yrs I have thought it a relatively clean industry with only a small exception of rogues. Until reading pg27 of GCB 1.2.23 I had no idea that injecting horses with Clenbuterol was common practice & rather than ban they are relying on honesty not to over prescribe to horses moving forward. This is a criminal. Ted
Must be a doctors nightmare when they hear the patient say “I’ve done my own research”.
Hi tram user the only time I seen the trams full was the day it was free does the big G stand for Ghost tram ,, jhn
Do tell Chloe GCB 2/1 what your qualifications are. You decided, after during your ‘own research’, against vaccination which billions in the world agreed to on advice from doctors worldwide who have studied for years & you complain the AMA did nothing for you. Listen to yourself. You believed quacks online so what did you expect from them.